Project Summary The goal of the Immunology Training Program (ITP) Leadership Track is to train PhD and MD/PhD scientists for outstanding careers in immunology-related research with an emphasis on developing the next generation of investigative group leaders for academia and industry (pharmaceuticals and biotechnology) alike. The program includes a wide range of Immunology-related topics, spanning from basic research in areas such as innate immunity, T cell activation, tolerance, antigen processing and presentation, MHC function, complement, antibody structure and function, and mucosal immunity to research in clinically relevant models of infectious diseases (e.g. tuberculosis, HIV), vaccine development, immunopathology, transplantation and autoimmunity. Participating departments provide a rich confluence of basic science, clinical activities and resources, and career development workshops to enrich the training of PhD students as they engage in basic and/or translational research in the field of immunology. To accomplish these training goals, the ITP Leadership Track has been developed as division of the broader ITP, itself a track within the Pathology Graduate Program. Training for the PhD degree in the program includes course work, research rotations, formal and informal seminars, a Thesis Proposal Defense/Qualifying Examination, research experience resulting in scholarly publications, career development activities and a PhD dissertation. Trainers and research laboratories are located in multiple departments at Case School of Medicine and its affiliated institutions, University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC), the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF, including the Lerner Research Institute) and the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center (VAMC). The extensive inter-departmental and inter- institutional participation is underscored by explicit co-sponsorship of the ITP by the CWRU Department of Pathology, CCF Department of Immunology, CWRU/UHCMC Division of Infectious Diseases, CWRU Center for Global Health and CWRU/UHCMC Visual Sciences Research Center. Other ITP trainers are located in a wide number of other departments at Case, CCF, UHCMC, MHMC and VAMC. Regardless of their primary affiliation, ITP Trainers hold faculty or trainer appointments in the Case Department of Pathology, thereby forming a cohesive group of mentors to ensure the highest possible training environment for all program trainees.